Compie in questi giorni trentacinque anni di attività l'emittente belga Radio Panik, e li festeggia con numerose iniziative disseminate in tutta Bruxelles, idealmente raccolte sotto il titolo del film su Conny Plank di cui domani sarà offerta proiezione pubblica: The Potential of Noise.

Radio Panik est une radio libre qui se définit comme radio associative d’expression et de création et comme radio multi- et interculturelle. Elle a été créée en 1983 à l’initiative d’un groupe de personnes militant contre le racisme et pour les droits de l’homme. Leurs motivations, toujours actuelles, sont bien résumées dans ses statuts: «L’objet de l’association est de contribuer - avant tout par le moyen de la radiodiffusion - à la promotion socioculturelle de la population dans la région bruxelloise. Elle a comme but l’émancipation réelle des individus dans le respect des différences culturelles et des procédures démocratiques.»
Radio Panik a donc fait partie de cette première génération de radios libres considérées comme "engagées" pour leur action militante en faveur d’une approche critique de l’information. Si son investissement au niveau local, tant au niveau social que culturel, s’est peu à peu imposé comme l’un de ses objectifs prioritaires, elle n’a jamais perdu de vue cette mission "généraliste" et demeure, au sein d’un paysage médiatique de plus en plus uniforme, un outil de communication dont la position marginale favorise la liberté, l’indépendance et la diversité.
Ayant occupé successivement plusieurs adresses à Saint-Josse et à Schaerbeek, Radio Panik a su concilier actualité locale et internationale, information et création, en ouvrant aux diverses communautés qui font de Bruxelles un véritable carrefour culturel, un espace "sans frontières", ouvert à l’expression de "voix parallèles" qui invitent à entendre, entre les ondes, un autre son de cloche. Aujourd’hui, Radio Panik est soutenue par le Ministère de la Communauté française depuis 2006, et depuis 2011 reconnue en tant qu’association d’Éducation Permanente. Depuis 2008 elle bénéficie également du statut de "radio associative et d’expression à vocation culturelle ou d’éducation permanente".

http://www.radiopanik.org/topiks/35-ans

http://www.lesateliersclaus.com/index.php/activities/35-ans-radio-panik-panik-en-ville

Il fugace incontro di Eugene Chadbourne con i newyorkesi Sunwatchers di due anni fa vede la luce oggi in un album dedicato per intero ai repertori di Doug Sahm, Henry Flynt e Minutemen, con solo una breve deviazione ayleriana e l'imprimatur dello stesso Mike Watt: 3 Characters, doppio vinile che Amish Records promuove con intento addirittura etico: "Sunwatchers teamed up with Eugene Chadbourne for two days of recording in October 2016 which resulted in 3 Characters. These sessions were dedicated exclusively to the music of the Minutemen, Doug Sahm and Henry Flynt. Having never played together before, all the songs were completed in one or two takes and the recordings reflect an urgency and immediacy that audiences have to come to expect from these musicians. The three characters invoked on these recordings offer models for our current political and societal struggles. Creating a music that is both personal and political, artistic and activist, these three figures were/are soulful and practical examples of the artist-as-laborer, addressing a call for social justice and musical spontaneity. Chadbourne and Sunwatchers have taken up this struggle, touring and recording, writing and collaborating, throughout their respective careers. Pushing this ethos out into the field and on this recording, 3 Characters is a reverential labor of love, where musical labor becomes a form of both love and resistance. Mike Watt joins the conversation with spoken interpretations of lyrics, poetry, speeches and assorted agit-prop. Having Watt's contemporary voice alongside so many songs that he wrote and defined suggests this, and all artistic collaborations, function as part of a long continuum that inform future callings."

http://amishrecords.com
https://sunwatchers-and-eugene-chadbourne-3-characters

Un paio di video preparati per accompagnarne i brani sono disponibili su YT, ma l'interezza dell'incredibile concerto - più che rarissimo, senza precedenti - tenuto da Renaldo & The Loaf a Vienna il giugno scorso è ora ufficialmente in cd, naturalmente per Klanggalerie: Long Time Coming (Live in Vienna 2018).

Scrive Walter Robotka, con motivato orgoglio: "Renaldo & The Loaf only ever graced a stage once nearly 40 years ago for a 20 minute improvisation. In June 2018 Klanggalerie celebrated its 25th anniversary with a 2 day festival that brought 11 bands from the label to Vienna for an exclusive gig. One of those bands was Renaldo & The Loaf... a great honour for us and a very special event for a lot of people who travelled from all over the world to see them. It was the first time RATL played a proper set and let me tell you, they were beyond amazing. The set consisted of songs old and new, and even a so-far unreleased track was presented for the first time ever. Of course, this unique event was recorded and here is Renaldo & The Loaf live at Klang25 in Vienna in 2018!"

http://www.klanggalerie.com/gg288
https://youtu.be/frWSZJV-vLc
https://youtu.be/ZLa4HLwS9Z0